The longstanding effort to keep extremist forces out of government in Europe is officially over.

For decades, political parties of all kinds joined forces to keep the hard-right far from the levers of power. Today, this strategy — known in France as a cordon sanitaire(or firewall) — is falling apart, as populist and nationalist parties grow in strength across the Continent.

Six EU countries — Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic — have hard-right parties in government. In Sweden, the survival of the executive relies on a confidence and supply agreement with the nationalist Sweden Democrats, the second-largest force in parliament. In the Netherlands, the anti-Islamic firebrand Geert Wilders is on the verge of power, having sealed a historic dealto form the most right-wing government in recent Dutch history.

Meanwhile, hard-right parties are dominating the polls across much of Europe. In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is cruising at over 30 percent, far ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, according to POLITICO’s Poll of Polls. Across the Rhine, Alternative for Germany, a party under police surveillance for its extremist views, is polling second, head-to-head with the Social Democrats.

    • Maestro
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      315 months ago

      I don’t know, but I am scared for the future. It’s also worrying how popular far right is under the youth. I worry about my little kids growing up …

    • WideEyedStupid
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      135 months ago

      It’s looking bleak here, indeed. My Heimat is jerking off Wilders and here in Germany it’s the AfD, though luckily in BW they aren’t as popular as in other parts of Germany…

      Still, not really sure what to do about it. I vote, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Don’t know how to explain to people why they should care about others. It’s a good thing I have enough books and games and series to offer escapism, because otherwise I’d probably need to get some prescription medication.

    • @[email protected]
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      55 months ago

      Well, they win because they get votes, what is it that they’re unhappy with that they’re drawn to the potential leadership of these parties? I’d start with that. These are democracies, so these parties can’t gain power unless they offer the citizenry of their countries something they want.

        • @[email protected]
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          35 months ago

          How so? The parties they’re competing against are incumbents, and often, there are laws preventing them from campaigning. If anything they’re at a disadvantage policitally, and yet they’re winning. Obviously, what they’re offering is popular for some reason.

          • @[email protected]
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            125 months ago

            In my opinion these parties are often mentioning valid issues or things that could be improved in society, and people vote for that. The problem is these parties don’t really have solutions either, but that’s something that doesn’t show up until after the elections…

            • @Shardikprime
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              05 months ago

              I think people have been waiting for solutions and they are reacting to those not being offered now, not in a potential future

    • @Linkerbaan
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      5 months ago

      Here is the actual answer:

      Make housing affordable.

      Ban housing as an investment and build far more social housing.

      As long as countries succumb to the investors and make housing an investment this will only get worse.

      The most important thing is to make sure the peoples basic needs are provided. If they do not have food, electricity, housing etc, they will get big mad at whomever is in charge right now.

      • @[email protected]
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        15 months ago

        Unfortunately that won’t solve the problem, I see some people that have already everything, but they are just afraid of others, don’t want to change their habits and don’t want to share.

        I guess the only way to change this mind is to talk, exchange, mix, share

        • @Linkerbaan
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          5 months ago

          Most right winger groups grow big by blaming <problem> on immigrants.

          In the case of the rising immigration hate, it’s the people blaming the housing prices on immigrants instead of cheap loans for investment bankers to snatch up all the properties with.

    • @systemglitch
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      -105 months ago

      Can you undo too much immigration?

        • @Shardikprime
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          05 months ago

          And then you guys ask yourselves why would anyone not vote in your favor.

          Nice

        • @[email protected]
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          -95 months ago

          You asked a question and he replied by giving the only reason why people vote for the far right.

          Also religion is not race.

          • Hugucinogens
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            5 months ago

            Race and religion are absolutely just smoke and mirror scapegoats and panic-triggering red buttons, for the far-right.

            People vote far right because of strongman propaganda (Great Leader will solve it all!!!), combined with feelings of anger, frustration and powerlessness.

            Any country that keeps it’s people poor and/or let’s rich fucks get rich enough, will get a blooming field of far-right politicians, vying for the privilege of getting more power, to suck the rich people’s dicks better, and get richer themselves.

          • theprogressivist
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            105 months ago

            Also religion is not race.

            It’s still discriminatory, though.

            • @DouchePalooza
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              15 months ago

              If the religion itself is discriminatory towards the tolerant, why should we be tolerant of them?

              • theprogressivist
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                15 months ago

                Nice. Generalizing an entire group of people to fit your narrative. Can you say the same about Christians? You sure can, but again, you’d sound stupid because you’re generalizing.

                  • @Seleni
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                    25 months ago

                    Hahahahahaha

                    Go to any place Christian nutters have ‘missionaried’ in over in Africa and you can see them with the masks off.

                    The only reason that sort of shit doesn’t openly happen in most of Europe anymore is it isn’t a popular idea with secular people, and religious leaders don’t have enough power to force it down people’s throats - yet.

            • @[email protected]
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              05 months ago

              I am a person from an Arab and Muslim country. This logic is insane and downright dangerous. You don’t know what you are getting yourself into. Read about it.

              • @[email protected]
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                5 months ago

                I’m not “getting myself into” anything. I understand how logic works and what words mean. I read some words about how islamophobia is racism and they were logical. They were at least a hundred times more convincing than your comment. You are saying that the idea that islamophobia is racism is dangerous. That is an extremely bold claim. Would you like to explain that a little?

          • @[email protected]
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            75 months ago

            Just give in to the hate and give the fear mongers exactly what they want to make them stop must be the dumbest thing ever posted on Lemmy. Congrats!

          • @[email protected]
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            65 months ago

            Also religion is not race.

            That is semantics. It doesn’t change anything about the point they were making since both race and religion are protected from discrimination.

        • @systemglitch
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          -135 months ago

          Truth does not equate to racism.

      • acargitz
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        5 months ago

        Sure, provided that the EU, pays reparations to the countries that it gouges the last 50 years, and provided that former colonial European countries, pay reparations to their former colonies.

        What, no?

        You can’t colonize Algeria and then complain about Algerians in France. You can’t import gastarbeiter and then complain about Turks in Germany. You can’t genocide the Kongo, Namibia, etc and then complain about Africans. You can’t keep West Africa in a perpetual chokehold with the franc and complain about the Senegalese.

        Basically, you simply can not fundamentally alter the rest of the world to serve your interests and then pretend that you don’t have to change yourself.

        The funny thing is that the European project as a supra national project is actually perfectly placed to overcome these old wounds by promoting peace and prosperity and encouraging regional integration outside Europe. The basic tenets of Europeanism are wildly successful at promoting peace and prosperity internally. The European experiment seems to have worked and Europe could very well foster similar projects around the world. Instead, they play the role of Vikings…

        • Buelldozer
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          -25 months ago

          Sure, provided that the EU, pays reparations to the countries that it gouges the last 50 years, and provided that former colonial European countries, pay reparations to their former colonies.

          Congratulations, you just succinctly demonstrated why Far-Right parties are rising. Turns out that many voters do not want to do either of those things.

      • katy ✨
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        75 months ago

        white ppl have some nerve whining about “importing people from countries incompatible with culture” considering their history of colonisation

      • @[email protected]
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        45 months ago

        There is no correlation between your area receiving immigration and people turning far right. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they turn far right in some backwater town where no one wanted to move into anyway. Muslims are just a scapegoat that people too lazy to think about the root of their own problems are fast to attack.

      • @systemglitch
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        -35 months ago

        People really don’t like hearing the truth here.